Ordeal by Innocence house owner describes BIZARRE experiences in new Agatha Christie drama

THE OWNER of the house used in the TV Agatha Christie drama Ordeal By Innocence has described the bizarre experience of sharing his home for five months with a film crew. Sir Ludovic Shaw Stewart says oddities ranged from bumping into star Bill Nighy making coffee, finding a coffin in his drawing room and hearing deathly screams late at night.

But glorious Ardgowan House on the west coast of Scotland, once a favourite bolthole of Princess Margaret, also has a starring role.

Viewers have fallen in love with its fine exterior, rolling acres and interiors reeking of history.

For Sir Ludovic, 31, who is the 12th Baronet, it has proved a surreal experience. He said: "When they are in your house filming for five months it all becomes routine. You wake up and Bill is in the kitchen making a cup of coffee and that's just life.

"As you are working and it's late you might also hear someone scream. It can be a bit alarming.

"Also there was a moment where everyone had gone home and I walked into the drawing room to see they had set up a huge coffin."

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The stars used Sir Ludovic's kitchen as their green room, apart from Bill Nighy and Anna Chancellor who had their own dressing rooms.

Filming ended in September but the crew returned to re-shoot in January and February after actor Ed Westwick was accused of sexual assault, which he denies, and replaced by Christian Cooke. The film crew have also helped Sir Ludovic finish renovations to his home. "They embellished the rooms and put the finishing touches on them," he said.

Over the course of 800 years, the 10,000-acre Ardgowan Estate has been the scene of witch-hunts, been transformed into a wartime hospital, and had connections with Napoleon, Florence Nightingale and Robert the Bruce - Sir Ludovic's ancestor.

The estate came into his family in 1406 and the current house was built in the 18th century.

Sir Ludovic inherited the property when he was 17 after his father, Sir Houston Shaw Stewart, died aged 72. Recalling Princess Margaret's visits, Sir Ludovic said: "She used to come and stay here twice a year. When I was young they used to have these sniffer spaniels who would arrive a week before her visit and run around the house looking for non-existent bombs. I always remember that being a real highlight."

TV shows Jonathan Creek, Still Game and Van Gogh: Painted With Words, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, have also been filmed there.. One tonight at 9pm.